Tehran regrets the sanctions and notes that they go against the “seriousness” and “goodwill” of the nuclear talks
, Dec 8 () –
The United States has imposed new sanctions against Iranian officials and organizations for the “violent repression” exercised against “peaceful protesters and prisoners of conscience,” while Tehran has warned Washington that the measures “will have no influence” on the nuclear deal negotiations.
The United States Treasury and State departments have announced new sanctions against the Special Units of the Law Enforcement Forces and the Special Forces to Combat Terrorism (NOPO) in Iran, organizations that they point to as “serious “Human Rights abuses in the 2009 and 2019 protests.
Likewise, the commanders of the Special Units of the Law Enforcement Forces Hassan Karimi – already sanctioned by the European Union – and Seyed Reza Mousavi Azami, and of the NOPO Mohsen Ebrahimi are appointed.
Also, “one of the most important national security resources in Iran”, Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij, involved in the “violent repressions in the post-electoral protests” is sanctioned. The Basij are reportedly among the Iranian security organizations that collectively killed hundreds of Iranian men, women and children.
The governor of the city of Qods, Leila Vasegui, is included in the new sanctions for issuing orders to the forces during the 2019 protests to, among other things, “shoot at unarmed protesters,” the Treasury reported in a statement.
The interrogators of the Revolutionary Guard of Iran Ali Hemmatian and Masud Safdari, who have a long history of physical abuse against Iranian political prisoners, are also designated by Washington, which also targets the Zahedan and Isfasahán prisons for “extrajudicial executions. and arbitrary detentions “.
The director of the Qarchak women’s prison, Soghra Jodadi, is also sanctioned for “violent attacks” against prisoners of conscience in 2020. Finally, the brigadier general and director of the Quds operational base of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the Zahedan city, in Sistan and Baluchistan province, Mohamad Karami, is also included in the sanctions for “shooting (…) against unarmed fuel carriers seeking to exercise their freedom of expression” in February this year.
All property and interests in the property of these individuals that are in the United States or in the possession or control of American persons are blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In addition, any entity that is owned, 50 percent or more, by one or more blocked persons is also blocked, as well as transactions related to those sanctioned are prohibited.
TEHRAN RESPONDS
For its part, Iran has condemned the new sanctions, considering that they go against the “seriousness” and “good will” anticipated before the negotiations in Vienna on the 2015 nuclear agreement.
“Even in the midst of the Vienna talks, the United States cannot stop imposing sanctions against Iran,” lamented the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Said Jatibzadé, through his Twitter profile.
Jatibzadé has criticized that Washington “does not understand that the ‘maximum failure’ and a diplomatic advance are mutually exclusive”, and has warned that “doubling down on sanctions” against Iran “will have no influence” on the talks.
The resumption of the Vienna talks on the 2015 nuclear agreement took place at the end of November, after more than three months without contact with the new government after the arrival to the presidency of the ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raisi.
Iran announced the withdrawal of its commitments on several of the points of the 2015 nuclear agreement after the United States left the pact, although the Iranian authorities have defended that these steps can be reversed if Washington withdraws the sanctions and returns to the agreement.
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